HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/20/2004 Regular Council Meeting MinutesII.
III.
PLACE AND DATE
Marana Town Hall, April 20, 2004
CALL TO ORDER
By Vice Mayor Kal at 7:01 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Led by Mayor Sutton
INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE
A moment of silence was observed in honor of Leilani Schisler, who recently
passed away.
IV. ROLL CALL
Vo
COUNCIL
Bobby Sutton, Jr. Mayor Present
Herb Kai Vice Mayor Present
Jim Blake Council Member Present
Patti Comerford Council Member Present
Tim Escobedo Council Member Present
Ed Honea Council Member Present
Carol McGorray Council Member Present
STAFF
Mike Reuwsaat
Jaret Barr
Frank Cassidy
Jocelyn Bronson
Town Manager Present
Interim Development Services Admin. Present
Town Attorney Present
Town Clerk Present
Attached is a list of public attendees.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Vice Mayor Kai, the
agenda with an amendment was unanimously approved. The change was that
Item IX. A. Consent Agenda 4, Resolution No. 2004-48, was moved to Item IX. B.
Council Action 1.
VI. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
Upon motion by Council Member Comerford, seconded by Council Member
McGorray, the minutes of the April 6, 2004 Town Council Meeting were
unanimously approved.
VII. CALL TO THE PUBLIC/ANNOUNCEMENTS
Steve Temple, Western Heritage Committee, addressed the Council and provided
an update of the rescheduled Founders' Day Rodeo events which were cancelled
on March 134 because of rain. He said that events to be held on Friday evening,
April 23ra would include team roping, an open cowboy calf roping, and the Town
Challenge calf dressing event. Mr. Temple continued by listing a variety of youth
events scheduled for Saturday morning, April 244 and he noted that Mayor Sutton
would present commemorative Western Heritage buckles to the Marana Man &
Woman of the Year at approximately 10:30 a.m. He related that adult team roping
would take place during the evening hours on Saturday. He noted that events
Sunday, April 254 included barrel racing and the presentation of commemorative
Western Heritage saddles to the winning competitors. He made a call to the public
for participants and urged everyone to attend the rodeo event.
Mayor Sutton recognized the Pima Association of Governments' PAG) new
Executive Director, Gary Hayes, who was present in the Council meeting
audience. The Mayor said that Mr. Hayes was already doing good things for PAG
and setting guidelines for its new direction.
Brad DeSpain presented the Mayor with a western belt from the Western Heritage
Association to go with a buckle previously presented to the Mayor.
Bob McCrae, Berry Acres resident, spoke before the Council about safety concerns
and flood issues associated with his neighborhood. He asked that the Council and
Town staff stay in touch with the processing of work on the floodplain
reorganization in that area. He said that mosquito problems were present in Berry
Acres because of ponding and stagnating of the agricultural drainage waters. He
asked if there was any way for Town officials to mitigate the amount of water
going into the bar ditches. He added that there had not been any further
discussion about the Town's possible purchase of the Linley Water Company and
he said that he hoped this issue would be a topic of Council discussion again soon.
Mayor Sutton asked the Town Manager to update the Council on the stated Berry
Acres issues.
Council Member Escobedo commented that a meeting was recently held with
Pima County officials regarding changes to the floodway patterns and he
predicated that information would be available to the public in the immediate
future. He said that the purchase of the area's water company was still being
discussed.
Council Member Honea said that he believed that Pima County had informed the
Town staff that the floodplain changed from floodway to floodplain on
approximately 95% of Berry Acres and that the proposed changes should be
approved sometime this year.
Mr. Reuwsaat stated that a weekly meeting focusing on the floodplain issues was
being held with Pima County and Town senior staff and that Board of Supervisor
Chair Sharon Bronson was also in attendance at these meetings. He said that the
letter of map revision for the levee on Sanders Road should be issued fairly soon
and said that Pima County staff had been invited to report on this matter at the
May 4, 2004 Town Council meeting. He said that the Town's map revisions from
Sanders Road to the Pinal County line were tied to the County process. He said
that part of the process, which the County would explain at the first Council
meeting in May, was that once the County and the Town received the notification
that the letter of map revisions has been finalized, there would be a 90-day public
comment period in order to deal with technical issues. Mr. Reuwsaat mentioned
that the delineation of the floodplain/floodway from Continental Ranch to the
Pinal County line could be expected before the end of the year and added that
County staff would also discuss the resident notification process that would be
used for instructions on obtaining flood insurance refunds from the last year. He
concluded by noting that this topic would be listed as an informational item on the
May 4th Town Council agenda.
Ed Stolmaker, Marana Chamber of Commerce, gave a brief update of the
Chamber's first quarter. This report was distributed to the Council and has been
made a permanent part of this record. Mr. Stolmaker said that Mr. Reuwsaat and
Mike Hein, Pima County Deputy Administrator, had all attended the Chamber's
board meeting on Monday, April 19a' where discussion of the May 18th bond
election took place. He reported that the board had voted in support of the five
general obligation bonds as well as the sewer revenue bond. lie said that he was
appreciative of the Town's support of the bowling tournament held on Saturday,
April 17a' at Bedroxx Bowling and reported that the event had been a huge
success. Mr. Stolmaker said that he had recently been informed by the Arizona
Department of Transportation (ADOT) regarding the replacement of the tourism
signs along 1-10. He reported that the signs would not be replaced for at least
another three weeks instead of by the end of April as promised.
VIII. STAFF REPORTS
There were no questions regarding the staff reports.
IX. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
A. CONSENT AGENDA
Resolution No. 2004-44: Relating to Animal Control Services; Approving
Amendment No. 1 of the Intergovernmental Agreement with Pima
Animal Care Center for the Provision of Animal Control Services within
the Town of Marana (Jocelyn Bronson)
o
Resolution No. 2004-45: Relating to Marana Founders' Day; Approving
the third weekend in March of each year for the official celebration
(Jocelyn Bronson)
Resolution No. 2004-47: Relating to Public Works; authorizing
acceptance of the counteroffer to purchase land owned by Ina &
Silverbell I Limited Partnership on the Southeast corner of Ina Road and
Silverbell Road (H. Thomas Gill)
Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member
McGorray, the consent agenda as amended was unanimously approved.
Item IX. A. 4. Resolution No. 2004-48~ was previously moved to IX. B.
Council Action.
B. COUNCIL ACTION
Resolution No. 2004-48: Relating to Water Service; Approving and
Authorizing the Execution of the First Amendment and Addendum to
Town of Marana Agreement for Construction of Water Facilities and
Provision of Water Utility Service between the Town of Marana and
Diamond Ventures, Inc., Continental Reserve, LLC and Pima Farms 160
LLC, pertaining to the Ironwood Reserve Project.
Mr. Reuwsaat presented this item before the Council and explained that
text clarifying the entity responsible for the agreement had been added to
the originally proposed resolution.
4
Mr. Cassidy pointed out that the agreement was essentially the same as
previously distributed to the Council and that a corrected version would be
made available to the Mayor for signature if approval was given.
Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member
Blake, Resolution No. 2004-48 was unanimously approved.
Resolution No. 2004-46: Relating to Boards, Commissions and
Committees; Approving the Formation of the Marana Teen Advisory
Council (Mike Brummett)
Mr. Brummett, Recreation Coordinator for Teen Programs, addressed the
Council regarding this item. He introduced the Marana Teen Advisory
Council's Planning Committee members which included Chief Richard
Vidaurri, Jane Howell, Randy Robbins, Tim Escobedo, Laurie Shepherd,
Bill Derfus, Ed Stolmaker, and Jocelyn Bronson. He gave a brief
background of the proposed action and said that the Planning Committee
had visited a Peoria, Arizona youth committee meeting in order to view
firsthand a teen council in action. He reported that the Planning Committee
had surveyed approximately 1,600 Marana High School (MHS) students
about their interest in a teen council as well as for their input on
youth/student activities. He said that 1,550 responses had been received
and 49 students expressed interest in serving on the teen council. He
pointed out that 23 of the 49 students were Marana residents and, following
Council approval, applications would be submitted to the Council for
consideration. He acknowledged the assistance of Jan Truitt, MHS
Principal, saying that she had been very supportive and helpful during the
investigative and formation process.
Council Member Escobedo commended the Town staff members for their
work on this project. He said that the Marana Teen Council would not
mirror Peoria's youth group but would be aiming toward a higher level of
community participation by the teen council members. He stated that there
would be the opportunity for the youth council to make recommendations
to the Town Council regarding teen issues and activities. He announced
that Mike Brummett would be the Teen Advisory Coordinator dealing
directly with the youth. He explained that the planning committee
members would also continue to be involved and would comprise a second
advisory tier for the teen council to consult prior to the submission of
recommendations to the Town Council.
Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member
Honea, Resolution No. 200446 was unanimously approved.
PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance No. 2004.07: Relating to development;
rezoning the 103-acre Willow Ridge property along the south side of
Cortaro Farms Road east of Hartman Lane and west of Star Grass to R-6
(60 acres), R-16 (34 acres) and NC (9acres). (Kevin Kish)
Mr. Cassidy explained the technical items that were being proposed for
change in Ordinance No. 2004.07. He said that a boundary survey which
was recently performed reflected a more accurate accounting of the acreage
included in the rezoning request than the Pima County Assessor's records.
He said that the corrected ordinance included minor changes and now
referred to 104.6 acres as opposed to the originally stated 102.97 acres. He
explained that the property changing to R-6 was 60.8 acres instead of 60
acres, the NC would be 9.7 acres instead of 9 acres, and the acreage
changing to R-16 would be 34.1 acres instead of 34 acres. He continued by
outlining other changes to the proposed ordinance including several minor
right-of-way issues that needed clarification and a new section, Section 5,
had been added. He explained that the new section authorized the Mayor
to execute the ordinance upon the Town's receipt of a fully executed
Willow Ridge Development Agreement.
Mayor Sutton opened the public hearing.
Sonja Macys, representing the Tucson Audubon Society, addressed the
Council regarding the organization's concerns with the proposed rezoning
action. Ms. Macys presented the Council with a letter outlining these
concerns and it has been made a permanent part of this record. She said
that a meeting had taken place with Town staff on Monday, April 19% in
order to discuss the listed concerns. She noted that, as landowners of a
nature preserve on Tucson's northwest side and as project managers of a
large restoration project along the Santa Cruz River just south of the Pinal
County line, the Tucson Audubon Society had an interest in the area in
question and wanted to assist with the development process in a way that
would benefit the wildlife. She pointed out that the proposed rezone area
was within environmentally sensitive lands and that the current residential
zoning designation was appropriate but that an additional commercial
designation would not be compatible with the sensitive area. She said that,
as a recovery area for the cactus ferruginous pygmy-oM, the property
contained two of the pygmy-owl crossings within the development plan.
She said that the Tucson Audubon Society had provided recommendations
for area improvements which outlined ways to open up the areas for
viability and maintenance of the corridors. She said that one of the main
concerns was insuring that mitigation occurred and that it would be a high
priority. She remarked that this rezone effort was considered an open
license for future developers to follow which could potentially cause the
loss of the remaining habitat in the newly annexed area. She asked that the
Town consider the option of acquiring some of the adjacent lands for
mitigation purposes or to explore the possibility of acquiring easements
from the area property owners. She mentioned that the homeowners
association was proposed to be the monitor of the conservation easement
and that this had not been an effective mechanism in the past for insuring
habitat conservation. She suggested that the development be required to
pursue the easement monitoring in partnership with the Arizona Open
Land Trust or another organization experienced in conservation
monitoring. She continued by saying that the assessed impact fees were
appropriate and necessary. She communicated her belief that this was a
step in the right direction in trying to provide for some mitigation for
developments and that the Town of Marana had taken a position of
leadership on this issue. She thanked the Council and senior staff for this
consideration and also for the Town's endorsement of the Open Space bond
which will appear on the May 18th ballot. She concluded by asking the
Council to reconsider approval of the proposed rezoning ordinance and to
keep the property as currently zoned which would, in her opinion, provide
for a habitat protection area.
Jenny Neeley, representing Defenders of Wildlife, spoke before the Council
about concerns with the rezoning ordinance. She said that her group had a
particular interest in the action because of the likely impact on recovery
efforts for the pygmy-owl. She thanked the Town for including the
Defenders of Wildlife in its conservation planning efforts several years ago
but said that there were still concerns remaining with the pygmy-owl
habitat preservation. She said that the rezone area encompassed some of
the last remaining and most significant pygmy-owl habitat left in Arizona
and had been proposed as critical habitat for the pygmy-owl by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. She stated that the area also fell within the
recovery area #3 as well as the Northwest Tucson Special Management
Area and the most current draft of the recovery plan.
Ms. Neeley added that the proposed rezoning area was also directly
adjacent to the designated high conservation value area of Northwest
Tucson, the only area in the entire region to receive that designation in the
pygmy-owl recovery plan. She described the area as an occupied breeding
habitat and extremely significant to the survival and recovery of the
pygmy-owl. She confirmed that her organization believed that the rezoning
effort would jeopardize the continued existence of the pygmy-owl and
urged the Council to reconsider the rezoning action. She asked that the
Council delay the approval of the ordinance.
Carolyn Campbell, representing the Coalition for Sonoran Desert
Protection, voiced her concerns regarding the proposed Council action. She
stated that the land involved in the rezone effort was not only critical to the
survival of the pygmy-owl but also pivotal in the overall habitat
preservation. Ms. Campbell said that there were concerns about the Willow
Ridge development and that the environmental impacts to the area would
be devastating. She said certain conditions of the Willow Ridge
Development Agreement should be made more explicit and better defined
in terms of benefiting the native wildlife. She said that additional mitigation
should be incorporated as well. She thanked the Council for its leadership
role associated with the upcoming Pima County Open Space bond issues.
Kevin McHugh, Executive Director of Desert Watch, voiced his opposition
to the rezoning effort. He noted that members of Desert Watch had served
on many municipal advisory committees regarding environmentally
sensitive lands and on the Pima County Bond Advisory Committee. He
disclosed that, prior to Willow Ridge officially becoming a development
project, an agent of the developer met with his organization to formulate a
set of environmentally sensitive design recommendations. He pointed out
that very few of those recommendations were included in the proposed
development plan. He said that he was not present to speak for Desert
Watch but to speak as a private citizen. He noted that he was sympathetic
for the Town officials in terms of the amount of pressure being exerted
from the property owners wanting to develop their holdings. He stated that
it was his understanding that this project was the subject of a lawsuit over
technical and procedural errors in the annexation process. He asked the
Council to delay making a decision of any rezoning or any development
plans on this parcel until the annexation dispute was settled.
Mr. McHugh said that he had researched Marana's records and found a
quote from a former Marana official. He did not identify the former official
but read the quote into the record as follows: "Rooftops are not economic
development and allowing commercial development away from the urban
commercial core makes no economic sense. It cannot pay for the cost of
infrastructure or services." He asked that the Council consider the quote as
they made their decision on this item. He also asked that the Council delay
the decision regarding the rezoning effort until after the annexation legal
matters were settled.
Mr. Bart stated that there had not been any official notification to the Town
of any pending legal action associated with the Camino de Oeste
annexation. He added that the Town stood by its procedural process.
Mayor Sutton commented that this issue would be addressed later in the
public hearing.
Doug McVie, Cortaro Farms Road area resident, spoke before the Council
regarding this matter. He said that he and his wife had both served on Pima
County's initial Comprehensive Plan Committee and on the Plan's recent
update committee, as well as the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan's
Steering Committee, and the pygmy-owl recovery plan committee. He said
that they opposed the Willow Ridge up zoning because they felt it was
inconsistent with the Marana General Plan, that it was inconsistent with the
goals of the Sonoran Desert Conservations Plan, and with the Pima County
Comprehensive Land Use Plan. He added that he believed the rezoning
effort to also be inconsistent with the recovery of endangered species in the
area and inconsistent with the existing land uses in the Cortaro Farms Road
area. He commented that this was not an in-fill project surrounded by low
to medium density residential as the applicant claimed but that the
property was surrounded only by low density residential, mainly suburban
ranch, which was one of the lowest density most restricted zoning
classifications in Pima County. He quoted from the Cortaro Farms Road
Environmental Assessment & Mitigation Report, Chapter 2, Page 3, "More
than 50% of existing zoning on both sides of proposed right-of-way is low
density residential suburban ranch." He said that a number of people had
spoken previously in the meeting about the sensitivity of the desert lands in
this area and he said that he was also concerned that the up zoning
threatened all the sensitive lands in the area and was setting the stage for
the entire Cortaro Road's scenic route to be transformed into strip mails
and generic tract homes.
9
He continued by saying that the development plan called for only 25% of
the land to remain natural and undisturbed and that this was a poor way to
treat environmentally sensitive lands. He said that transplanting vegetation
to other parks, community centers or natural preserves did nothing for the
onsite mitigation and actually threatened the survival of the plants. He
spoke about the widening of Cortaro Farms Road and said that it had been
held out as a big bonus to the community but that the developer's plan to
improve less than half of the Cortaro Farms Road project did not benefit the
community. He asked that consideration be given to the extra vehicle trips
the development would generate on Cortaro Road and said that he believed
the project's increased development was a terrible price to pay for one mile
of widened roadway. He said that the level of service, east of Camino de
Oeste, at the Cortaro/I-10 interchange, was already substandard and that
this project did not improve these key areas but would make the level of
service to these areas worse. He said that he was concerned with negative
comments made by Planning Commission Chairman Dave Parker at the
Planning Commission hearing related to this action. He stated that the
Chairman had commented negatively about this planning of this project
and said that he felt that developers were driving the planning of Marana.
He continued his address to the Council by stating that a number of people
had asked if the commercial development was necessary and that it was
put forth by the Town and the developer that the commercial development
would actually help with traffic congestion on Cortaro Road. He said that
he did not believe this to be true. He noted that the portion of Cortaro Road
east of this project would not be widened and was more overburdened than
the portion of roadway in question, being 1,000 trips per day more
overburdened. He asserted that the road survey being distributed and
championed by the Town was not a good thing. He concluded by stating
that the Pima County residents paid in the past bonding effort to have the
entire road widened and that this should be done in a timely manner and
without extra development in the area.
Gary Brown, representing Desert Son Community Church, spoke before the
Council regarding the proposed rezoning effort. He voiced his approval of
the action and said that his fellow church members had reviewed the
proposed plan and believed that the wildlife corridors and open space
connections were well done. He said they believed that the setbacks were
appropriate with varying height levels on the homes and that 75% of the
ironwood trees would be saved. He said he believed there was a total of 30
to 40% of open space available and that the commercial development was
present because it would reduce the traffic coming onto Cortaro Road.
10
Mr. Brown said he thought this was a good fill-in project and that 15% of
the church's property would be required in order to accomplish the
roadway widening. He pointed out that due to the safety issues, it was a
good thing to do at this time. He said that the church membership was
especially excited about the partnership between the Town of Marana,
Pima County, and the developer to widen the road before the 2008
timeframe associated with the 1997 bonds. He said that the safety access
and functionality plan was excellent. Mr. Brown then said that his next
statements would be spoken as a private citizen and not as a representative
of his church. He said that there were 8,000 Pima County residents who
were in favor of the wildlife preservation but it should be noted that there
were also 792,000 County residents that were in favor of development. He
said that the concerns from the environmental advocates had been
overwhelmingly voiced and that it was time to hear from the human voice
that accepted growth and wanted wise planning. He said that the human
safety factor needed to be considered and not simply pygmy-owl safety.
Molly Brown, 30-year resident of Cortaro Farms Road, addressed the
Council on this issue. She said that her property adjoined the church's
property and was directly across from the Willow Ridge project. She said
that she had never seen a pygmy-owl in all the years she had resided on
Cortaro Farms Road. She stated that safety was her main concern as her
grandson had been struck by a vehicle on Cortaro several years ago and
had been seriously injured. She said that she was very much in favor of the
proposed project and rezoning.
No additional public speakers came forward. Mayor Sutton closed the
public hearing.
Mayor Sutton asked the Town Attorney to address any legal issues he was
aware of that were associated with this project.
Mr. Cassidy replied that he was not aware of any legal issues connected to
this project or to the annexation of the property.
Kevin Kish addressed the Council and gave a brief description of the
proposed development. He listed the zoning designations included within
the 103-acre property as well as subdivision features such as setbacks and
building height restrictions. He said that the project illustrated Marana's
commitment to coordinate land use development with related
transportation improvements to better-serve the community.
11
He noted that there were 31 conditions outlined in the amended ordinance
before the Council and said that staff recommended approval.
Mayor Sutton commented that one of the public speakers had said that
there would not be any traffic improvement or upgrade to the level of
service to the community after the roadway widening. He said that this was
far from what he had in his mind of what the improvements would do for
the Marana citizens. He asked Jim DeGrood to address this issue.
Mr. DeGrood responded and stated that this project would be generating
approximately 2,000 new vehicle trips onto Cortaro Road with about 60% of
those trips on the element of roadway to the west to the freeway and that
the project would add 800 to 900 vehicles per day to the roadway element
to the east. He said that a recent count of vehicles on Cortaro Farms Road
suggested that approximately 24,000 vehicles per day traveled the roadway
and that this number was well above the rated capacity of the roadway. He
pointed out that this factor was the main reason the Town felt so strongly
that there was an eminent need to improve that roadway by widening it to
four lanes which would easily accommodate those trips on the roadway to
the west. He described the commercial development as a neighborhood
commercial which ordinarily normally were seen as areas that diminished
trips bound for other destinations and did not significantly add to the total
number of trips. He pointed out that statistics indicated that these types of
commercial developments actually shortened trip lengths. He emphasized
that one safe guard for this project was to make sure that no homes were
occupied before the four-lane roadway improvement was completed.
Mayor Sutton said that Carolyn Campbell's suggestion to have an
experienced organization monitor the sensitive land area as opposed to the
homeowners' association sounded like a good idea.
Mr. Reuwsaat remarked that it was a good idea but that it was a dilemma
currently faced by every project located within sensitive habitat areas. He
said that high maintenance costs and agreement on what would be
sustained was an issue for the every jurisdiction throughout the County. He
mentioned that the Town was in discussions with Pima County over this
issue as the County reviewed its open space acquisitions and future plans.
12
Mayor Sutton asked if the system of checks and balances for this type of
HOA projects were significant enough to give the homeowners associations
proper monitoring guidelines.
Mr. Reuwsaat replied "yes" and said that the language provided in the
development agreement was flexible and did not require the monitoring
agent to be an HOA. He said that there were other options available.
Mayor Sutton asked if the County had a position on the Camino de Oeste
annexation and Willow Ridge rezoning effort.
Mr. Reuwsaat said that no official position had been taken by the County
on the annexation or rezoning. He pointed out that Pima County had
recently entered into an IGA with the Town where the County will transfer
$7M out of the 1997 bond issue to the Town for the Cortaro Road
improvements. He pointed out that this project dealt with wildlife crossings
and transportation as well as resolving most of the drainage issues of the
entire area.
Mayor Sutton commented that this was a huge environmental issue and he
thought that a lot of pressure was being applied to the Marana officials that
this was the Town's call. He said that the project had to go through all the
required conditions based on habitat and the pygmy-owl requirements,
regardless of what the Town passed. The Mayor asked that Mr. Kish
comment on the on-site and off-site mitigation.
Mr. Kish said that this project required consultation with the U.S. Fish and
Game and that the developer had been meeting with the federal agency. He
noted that the project's design was based on input from the Fish and Game
department. He emphasized that the federal agency was not going to
approve anything that resulted in an adverse modification to the habitat
which was their stewardship. He said that Town staff was comfortable
with the project from that standpoint.
Mr. Barr added that there was a symbiotic relationship not only between
the development and the environment but also between this project and the
needed drainage solutions, the necessary road improvements, and the
needs of the community in relation to the development. He said that the
Town staff was working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife in identifying not
only land mitigation but other open space contributions in environmentally
sensitive areas.
13
Mr. Barr said that the staff did not disclose the fact that mitigation
properties were being considered by the Town because they did not want
the land owners to raise prices. He said that other developers were already
speculating on a 37-acre parcel which U.S. Fish & Wildlife considered even
more critical habitat than the Willow Ridge properties but that the price
was too high for the Town to pay for mitigation purposes.
Mayor Sutton mentioned that suggestions had been made to delay the
Council's decision on the rezoning and the development agreement. The
Mayor said this was not necessary and pointed out that there were plenty
of checks and balances in place associated with this project. He said that he
had never seen a rezoning effort with 31 conditions. He brought up another
comment by Ms. Campbell regarding the Town's history of support for
conservation planning and environmental consciousness. He said that the
Town was a leader in certain areas of this type, noting that Marana was the
first municipality to have its own Area Conservation Plan (ACP) and the
first jurisdiction to endorse the Open Space bonding effort as well as the
rest of the bond issues. He said that the Town was moving in a good
direction and that voices from all viewpoints would always have an
opportunity to be heard by the Council. He said that aside from swing set
issues or Little League problems, the issues he received the most calls about
were roadway improvements and drainage problems. He said that he
understood both sides of this rezoning issue but that there was no pressure
on the Council to help any landowner cash out. He emphasized that the
only pressure the Council had was to protect its citizens and do what was
best for the environment.
Mr. Barr thanked Ms. Macys, Ms. Campbell, and Ms. Neeley for adding
their perspectives to this issue. He said that he thought the women had
made positives comments and that they would be invited to sit down with
the Town when the plat was ready for review.
Mr. Reuwsaat said that what came to his mind was balance with the
environment and the urban environment. He said that innovation on the
Town's part was also important. He said that the rezoning and the
development agreement were a stellar example of both balance and
innovation in trying to meet the needs of all parties in order to make this
project viable.
There was no further discussion of this item.
14
Upon motion by Vice Mayor Kai, seconded by Council Member Honea,
Ordinance No. 2004.07 with the recommended conditions and amendments
was unanimously approved.
Council Member Escobedo thanked the Town Staff and fellow Council
members for their outstanding work on this project. He said that he was
appalled that someone would reference nonexistent lawsuits in their debate
and that, if legal actions were an issue, then the Council action would have
gone in a different direction.
Resolution No. 2004-49: Relating to development; approving and
authorizing the execution of a development agreement relating to the
Willow Ridge development project (Frank Cassidy)
Mr. Cassidy presented this item before the Council and said that this was
the development agreement that carried out many of the obligations and
commitments under the previously heard zoning case. He noted that a
revision was distributed before the meeting but that all of the fundamental
elements of the agreement had stayed the same. He described the changes
and said that the developer was agreeing to pay the existing Marana South
Transportation Development Impact fee of $2,435 per unit for the Twin
Peaks Interchange and would contribute $6,400 per residential unit for the
environmental and park items that have been discussed. He said that the
developer would also contribute at least $700,000 toward the design and
construction of Cortaro Road including some drainage monies. He pointed
out that the money made it possible for the Town to get the roadway
construction completed in a timely manner. He said that, per the newly
acquired boundary surveys, the property size changed from 102.97 to 104.6
acres and the legal description was now referenced within the agreement.
He said that minor wording changes were made to Article 2. Infrastructure,
Section 2.1, and Section 2.2. He described the changes to Article 5. Protected
Development Rights which allowed for a five year period within which the
Town agreed not to change the development regulations. He noted that a
two-year extension period was also added and that the timeframe met with
the applicable Arizona Revised Statutes {}9-1203. He said that Article 8.
General Terms and Conditions, Section 8.2. Term, provided for the
agreement termination by the applicant if the Town materially impaired the
development entitlements on the property. A black-lined copy of this
agreement has been made a permanent part of this record.
15
Council Member Blake commented that the developer would have to pay
$10,035 per lot in impact fees and that he did not know of another
jurisdiction that imposed that much in fees.
Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member
McGorray, Resolution No. 2004-49 was unanimously approved.
4. State Legislative Issues - Discussion/Direction/Action regarding all
pending bills before the Legislature (Mike Reuwsaat)
There was no report given at this time.
C. MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S REPORT
Council Member Comerford reported that she was still hurting from the
fundraising bowling event recently held at Bedroxx Bowling on April 17~.
D. MANAGERS' REPORT
Mr. Reuwsaat reported that he had been speaking with State Representative
Jennifer Burns and that she was considering introducing a resolution on the
House Floor recognizing the Town of Marana as one of the best managed cities
in the U.S. He said that he would keep the Council informed about when this
legislation would be before the House for approval so that Council members
and Town staff could attend the ceremony.
16
XI.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
There were no items suggested for future agendas.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member
McGorray, approval to adjourn was unanimous. The time was 8:25 p.m.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the
Marana Town Council meeting held on April 20, 2004. I further certify that a
quorum was present.
17